Under the Metropolitan Medical Response System grant, the City and Borough of Juneau has purchased six mobile medical surge units to be pre-staged throughout Southeast Alaska. These are all-weather, fully self-contained units with power generation, HVAC, water and hygiene systems, and are able to provide isolation capabilities for the treatment of contagious patients. They have been placed in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Skagway, Wrangell and tentatively on Prince of Wales Island. Two people from Western Shelter provided the training to participants, who learned the fundamentals on set up, tear down and care of the units over a three-day period. The units are specifically designed to be transportable by floatplane, helicopter, ferry or barge to allow maximum flexibility to move the units to an affected community.

Photo by Amanda Gragert

Representatives from groups across Southeast Alaska work together in training to learn how to properly assemble various pieces of emergency units, which are being sent across the region.

When brought together, they will form a 56-bed hospital with isolation capabilities. They are fully compatible with FEMA, National Disaster Medical System, and Disaster Mortuary Assistance Team equipment, which would respond to Southeast Alaska following a disaster. Ten hospital-style beds have been placed in Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan, along with additional ventilators and a 500-person FEMA disaster trailer for Southeast Alaska. For more information on the shelters, go online to www.westernshelter.com.